


Boyish Charm

by benpenning



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 10:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16831228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benpenning/pseuds/benpenning
Summary: Flip the script idea where Donna is in Josh's roll and Josh is in her roll. "Boyish Charm" is the retelling from the script of Josh and Donna's first meeting but Josh is trying to get the assistant job while Donna is trying to run a campaign for Leo. Otherwise known as "The One Where Donna's Assistant is Josh."





	Boyish Charm

Donna doesn’t slow down for any reason, not when Leo had her on thirteen different things and nine of those things are impossible. That’s why Leo brought her on in the first place, because this is what she could do. This was where she could reach her full potential that he’d seen when she was a kid and Leo spent time with her father. Leo didn’t waste her talents. Therefore Donna didn’t slow down for the little things like her office phone ringing because the machine could take it at the moment. There were plenty of campaign staff moving slightly slower than her, it wasn’t abnormal to have someone standing in her office but the words coming out of the guy’s mouth and into her phone were abnormal.   
  
“–Donna Moss. No, she’s not available right now. This afternoon she has a media session and a four o’clock with finance. If you leave your name I can give Donna your message.” The phone was carefully held against the guy’s shoulder and ear as he took the information down quickly, said thanks and hung up. Donna stopped because people didn’t take her messages. She didn’t have someone who did that so she stopped and turned as she was about to leave her office again when it all registered.   
  
“Hi.” She said and the guy glanced up at her, still jotting down the information.   
  
“Hi.” The guy responded in a flat tone, like he didn’t have time to be talking to her at the moment because he was busy taking that message.   
  
“Who are you?” Donna held the files in her hands against her chest and crossed her arms.   
  
“I’m Josh Lyman. Who’re you?” Josh (apparently) shot back with all the confidence of someone who belonged in Donna’s office, taking her messages, and shooing away annoyances. She had to admit that was pretty impressive since she knew he didn’t belong. He didn’t even have a staff badge.   
  
“I’m Donna Moss, actually.” She watched his face fall but he recovered quicker than she’d expected.   
  
“Ah.” Josh cleared his throat, and staying true to the role he had obviously fabricated placed the post it on her calendar so she’d see it when she had time. Like an assistant would. “I’m your new assistant.”   
  
“Not sure you’re my new assistant.” Donna knew she had to get moving again, however she wanted to figure this guy out. He was ballsy.   
  
“Why? Cause I’m a guy?” Josh responded. That made her roll her eyes.   
  
“No because I didn’t have an old assistant.” She explained and his face fell again. He looked like a puppy, she realized, with his crazy wild hair and a face that clearly read ‘yes I may have chewed your slippers but I am still so cute.’ “Who are you?”   
  
“I’m Josh Lyman.” He repeated his name, confidence shaken by her outright denial of his position but somehow still not completely crushed; another story winding up to try to keep his hooks in. “I came in to volunteer, and the woman assigned me to you.   
  
“Which woman?” Donna started moving again and Josh quickly followed.   
  
“Uh…Jane.” He commented as casually as he could manage to make it sound right.   
  
“You mean Margaret.” She shook her head.   
  
“Yes!” Josh nodded and grinned a little at her. She noticed his smile showed off adorable dimples.   
  
“Who are you?” Donna looked back towards her office because Josh was now at another desk, sorting reports she hadn’t had time to sort into the right boxes out in the main room. Josh had taken those reports from her desk and was now filing them for her.   
  
“Josh Lyman.” He looked back at her. “I’ll be working as your assistant.” Couldn’t stop trying to play that off. Now it was starting to grate on Donna that he was still lying.   
  
“I’m going to talk to Margaret.” Donna declared and turned to start that way. It wasn’t completely unrealistic that maybe she’d gotten an assistant but he should have a staff badge. Josh was then suddenly in front of her, looking more kicked puppy now.   
  
“Actually, Donna, when I said that I was assigned to you I may have been…”   
  
“Lying?”   
  
“Overstating it some.”   
  
“….who are you?” Donna turned and started in another direction. This was too much right now. She was a little frazzled, and she needed to get these files in her hands to CJ before she forgot. Getting sidetracked would be a bad idea right now.   
  
“Josh Lyman.” Again he said. “I drove up from Boston, Massachusetts.” Something about the say he said that caught her attention and she figured a few things out.   
  
“When did your girlfriend break up with you, Josh?” They were moving at full pace now and he was keeping up with her. Still somehow had an air that said he belonged there, like he should be walking with Donna.   
  
“What makes you think my girlfriend broke up with me?” An offended edge came into his voice and Donna knew she’d gotten it right from that alone.   
  
“You’re too old to have been kicked out by your parents.” She glanced back at him and noticed how young he did seem though.   
  
“I’m-” Donna noted that he stammered for a moment. “I’m here because I wanna work for Bartlet. I’m a college graduate with a degree in political science and government–”   
  
“Where did you graduate from?” Donna quickly cut him off before he could get going. She had a feeling that if she let him get going then there’d be no getting rid of him.   
  
“Hmm?” Josh avoided her eyes and she stopped for about ten seconds to get a little cup of coffee.   
  
“Where did you graduate from?” She stressed each word and took a drink of coffee before starting in CJ’s direction again.   
  
“So…when I said I graduated–” A crack in the confidence. Donna saw an actual look of sadness as he said the words. “I may be overstating some–”   
  
“Look, Josh–”   
  
“I was a couple credits short.”   
  
“From where?” Donna was on the move again, she got to CJ’s office but no CJ and placed the files where they needed to go   
  
“UMass.” Josh was keeping up again.   
  
“Where you majored in political science and government?”   
  
“Also philosophy. History. Um physics with a minor in German…for a second there…Journalism.”   
  
“You had five majors and two minors in four yea–”   
  
“Just two years.”   
  
“Look, Josh–”   
  
“I-I had to drop out.” Josh’s voice was tight and she glanced back at him as they rounded a corner. “I had to drop out.” He repeated when their eyes met.   
  
“Your girlfriend was older than you?” They were back at her office now and she moved around her desk as she asked, sitting down when she reached the other side.   
  
“Kinda a personal question, don’t you think?” Josh tried to square his shoulders and look more assured of himself.   
  
“Okay, but you were also just at my desk–” she gestured to each as she spoke. “–reading my calendar, answering my phone, and…I don’t know? Hoping I wouldn’t notice that I never hired you?” She shook her head. “Your girlfriend was older?”   
  
“Yeah.” The word, although small, came out very cold.   
  
“A law student?” Donna noticed the way Josh twitched at the assumption.   
  
“No.” Josh took in a breath, sat down across from her, and looked like he was preparing himself for something painful. “She was an art history major but she was finishing her master’s in communications and starting her PhD…” Josh bit the inside of his cheek. “PhD in political science.” He avoided her eyes.   
  
“So idea was you’d drop out and support her until she finished that?” Donna watched his reaction.   
  
“Yup.” He avoided eye contact and ducked his head slightly as he spoke that one word.   
  
“And why did Doctor Freeride break up with you.” She didn’t say it as a question.   
  
“What makes you think she broke up with me?” Josh’s eye stayed down. It was obvious this girl had done a number on him.   
  
“Josh,” she sighed heavily. “This is a campaign for the Presidency, and there is nothing I take more seriously than that. This isn’t the place where people come to find their confidence and start over.”   
  
“Why not?” Josh’s eyes flickered up to her face and he gave a little half shrug that tugged at Donna’s heart just a tad.   
  
“I’m sorry?” Donna frowned, glancing down so that she didn’t have to look at the puppy she seemed to be kicking again   
  
“Why can’t it be that place?” Those words made her look up and Donna could see him gearing up to say something that she was pretty sure would make her cave.   
  
“Because–”   
  
“What, is it going to interfere with my typing?“ Josh gestured at the computer on her desk with a huff. Whatever she had cut him off from saying was vibrating just under his skin.   
  
“Josh, today we’re all picking up and going to South Carolina. If you want to stay in the Manchester office and vol–” Donna glared when he spoke over her.   
  
“I wanna go to Charleston with you.” Josh moved to the edge of his seat. She stood up and walked around her desk so she was passing him as she spoke.   
  
“I can’t carry you, Josh! I got a lot of people out there that want to make that trip.” She even gestured, vaguely, to those people which were just the people walking by or milling around.   
  
“I-I’ll pay my own way!” He quickly countered. She got distracted by Josh’s counter and turned back around to face him.   
  
“With what?” Donna felt bad she laughed a little at the suggestion.   
  
“I’ll sleep on the floor, I’ll sell my baseball card collection! Eventually–” Josh made eye contact with her and she walked towards him considering how big a threat it was that this guy was saying he’d sell his baseball card collection to go on the road with them.. “–you’re going to put me on salary.”   
  
“Josh.” Donna’s tone was just a little amused as she leaned against her office doorway and looked at the young man conning his way into an assistant position that didn’t actually exist   
  
“Look.” This time he was already geared up and she wasn’t going to be able to stop him. “I think I might be good at this. I think you might find me valuable.” He stopped there and she had expected a lot more from a guy who seemed to have so much to say.   
  
The tension in the room bumped up. The phone rang loudly and suddenly. They glanced at each other then the phone. Donna couldn’t believe she was seriously considering this. Hell, she was past considering. She figured that he’d give up in two months or he might actually be valuable. The ringing was still bouncing off her office area walls.   
  
“Go ahead.” Donna finally said and nodded towards her phone. Josh practically pounced on the phone.   
  
“Bartlet for America, Donna Moss’s office.” A beat. “Uh, yeah, I think I’m going to have someone from the press office get back to you if it’s related to – okay. Uh, yes.” Josh spoke calmly to the person on the phone, standing after a moment and looking for a pen on the desk. One was located and he got ready to write something down. The other person was still talking. Donna stepped forward and took her staff badge off, holding it out for Josh to take. He paused in writing the name down and took the badge from her, a tiny smile spreading over his face as he looked at the laminated pass. “Yeah. Okay.” Josh held the badge in hand as he wrote the name and number down to give to the press office.   
  
Donna turned and left before Josh finished his task. She needed to get to Leo’s office for a meeting that Josh had made her late for but that was okay. She was pretty sure as Deputy Chief of Staff that had technically been in her job description but she was also looking forward to having Josh working for her.


End file.
